Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Overview Return to Castle Wolfenstein, abbreviated RtCW, was released November 19, 2001. The game was published by Activision, developed by Gray Matter Studios and Nerve Software. Id Software over saw the game's development and was credited as the game's executive producers. RtCW was the long awaited re-imaging of the video game "Wolfenstein 3D". Actually, the game restarted the franchise. Story Setting In 943 AD a German Prince known as Heinrich dominated Western Europe with his army of undead and Dark Knights created by black magic. Their was no one who could stand in his way until a monk stopped Heinrich by sealing him in a deep underground tomb. A thousand years later, the Second World War had started to go bad for Nazi Germany due to their defeats in Soviet Russia and North Africa. The Chief of the Nazi SS Heinrich Himmler had been researching possible ways to win the war through Science and Black Magic and read a few stories about the German prince Heinrich I and his Dark Knights, becoming interested in them, especially since they were so powerful. Heinrich Himmler believed that if he could bring Heinrich back to life he could win the war for Nazi Germany. Himmler then created a SS Paranormal Division and sent them to Northern Egypt in secret and hoped that they would find some tablets. Meanwhile, the Allied intelligence office got word of this and sent British Agent One and US Army Captain B.J. Blazkowicz to capture Helga Von Bulow, a high ranking member of the SS Paranormal Division. They tracked Helga to an ancient tomb filled with the undead but both the agents and The Germans escaped including Helga. After this, Blazkowitz and Agent One were sent to follow her to Castle Wolfenstein, but were shot down by the Luftwaffe along the way and were captured by the Germans. Missions Prologue: Rash-El-Hadzid (console version only) This series of missions shows what B.J. and Agent One did prior to their capture. While fighting Erwin Rommel's forces in North Africa, B.J. suddenly finds himself assigned to a secret mission in the town of Rash El-Hadzid in Egypt. Accompanied by Agent One, he makes his way through the town and infiltrates a secret archaeological dig site where Helga Von Bulow and her SS Paranormal Division are attempting to acquire a pair of ancient magical tablets from a cursed tomb. After fighting his way through both Nazis and Undead, B.J. makes it through the tomb but ultimately fails to capture Helga. He and Agent One pursue her in a stolen Ju-52 transport, only to be shot down near Castle Wolfenstein, where they are captured. Mission 1: Ominous Rumors While investigating the activities of the SS Paranormal Division in Germany, B.J. Blazkowicz and Agent One are captured by the Nazis. Agent One dies while being interrogated by a Nazi torturer, but B.J. manages to escape Castle Wolfenstein's dungeon. He then finds a way out of the castle, fighting through platoons of guards, and ultimately using a tram car to leave the area and meet up with a member of the German resistance in a nearby village. Mission 2: Dark Secret The SS Paranormal Division under Oberführer Helga von Bulow has been excavating the catacombs and crypts of an ancient church within the village. Their sloppy precautions have led to the awakening of hordes of undead creatures, including Saxon knights, and the entrance had to be sealed off with many soldiers trapped inside. B.J. descends regardless and fights both Nazis and Undead until he arrives at the ancient "Defiled Church" where Nazi scientist Professor Zemph is conducting an experiment on the corpse of a Dark Knight. Shortly before B.J.'s arrival, Zemph tries to talk Helga von Bulow out of retrieving an ancient dagger, but she shoots him impatiently and proceeds. This awakens an undead monster known as Olaric who kills her too. Blazkowicz fights the monster and is airlifted out, with Zemph's notes. Mission 3: Weapons of Vengeance One of Germany's leading scientific researchers and Head of the SS "Special Projects Division", Wilhelm Strasse, (known as "Deathshead"), has prepared to launch an attack on London using a V-2 rocket fitted with an experimental germ warhead from his base near Katamarunde in the Baltics. Blazkowicz is parachuted some distance from the missile base and smuggles himself into the base in a supply truck. Inside the base, Blazkowicz destroys the V-2 rocket on its launchpad and fights his way out of the facility towards an airbase filled with experimental jet aircraft. After fighting his way through the airbase, he commandeers a "Kobra" rocket-plane and flies to safety in Malta. Mission 4: Deadly Designs Eager to know more about Deathshead and his secret projects, the OSA sends Blazkowicz to the bombed city of Kugelstadt (which, translated from German, literally means 'Bullet City'), where he is assisted by members of the German resistance in breaking into a ruined factory. There he discovers the blueprints for the Reich's latest weapon, an electrical machine-gun called "Venom Gun". Blazkowicz eventually breaks into Deathshead's underground research complex, the Secret Weapons Facility (SWF). There he encounters horrific creatures (pictured above), malformed and twisted through surgery and mechanical implants. The creatures have just escaped and gone on a rampage. Blazkowicz sees Deathshead escape the SWF by U-Boat, and learns of its destination by interrogating a captured German officer. Mission 5: Deathshead's Playground Blazkowicz is parachuted into Norway, close to Deathshead's mysterious "X-Labs". After breaking in, he sees several of the twisted creatures (deemed "Lopers") he encountered in Kugelstadt released from their cages and immediately turn on the laboratory's staff. Fighting his way through the facility, Blazkowicz retrieves Deathshead's journal and confronts several prototype Ubersoldaten, towering monstrosities coated in armor, powered by hydraulic legs, and carrying powerful fixed weapons. Finally, he confronts and destroys one of Deathshead's ultimate Übersoldaten and kills the researchers who have developed it. Deathshead himself escapes in a rocket-plane and does not appear in the game again. Mission 6: Return Engagement After studying the documents captured by Blazkowicz, the OSA has become aware of a scheme codenamed "Operation: Resurrection", a plan to resurrect Heinrich I. Despite the skepticism of senior Allied commanders, the OSA parachutes Blazkowicz into the Harz mountains of Germany, close to Castle Wolfenstein itself. He arrives at the village of Paderborn and, after assassinating several senior officers of the SS Paranormal Division including Major Hochstedder, General Von Struasse, Colonel (Oberst) Strache, General Burkhalter and General Haupman, fights his way into Chateau Schufstaffel, where he encounters members of the Elite Guard including the main leader General Von Shurber. Blazkowicz then fights his way through the grounds of the chateau, facing opposition from members of the Elite Guard and two of Deathshead's Übersoldaten. Having destroyed the mechanical soldiers, Blazkowicz enters an excavation site near Castle Wolfenstein. Mission 7: Operation Resurrection Inside the excavation site, Blazkowicz fights Nazi guards and prototype Übersoldaten, and makes his way to a boarded-up entrance to Castle Wolfenstein's crypts. There, he finds that the ruined part of the castle has become infested by undead creatures, which are attacking the castle's desperate garrison. After fighting his way through the castle, Blazkowicz arrives at the site of a dark ceremony to resurrect Heinrich I. At the ceremony, SS Psychic Marianna Blavatsky conjures up dark spirits, which transform three Übersoldaten into Dark Knights, Heinrich's lieutenants. She ultimately raises Heinrich I, who "thanks" her by turning her into his undead slave. In a climactic battle, Blazkowicz destroys the three Dark Knights and Heinrich I as SS chief Heinrich Himmler watches in horror from afar. Enemies Nazis * Soldier (RtCW) - Standard Wehrmacht soldier who is equipped with various types of weapons. * Officer (RtCW) - Nazi officers equipped with Luger. * Worker (RtCW) - Includes Nazi scientists and technicians. * Flamethrower - Soldier equipped with flamethrower. * Venom Gunner - Soldier equipped with a Venom Gun. * Elite Guard (RtCW) - SS Paranormal Devision's special female unit. * Black Guard - Nazi SS highly trained unit created by Heinrich Himmler as his bodyguards and for some top secret areas. Undead *Undead - Zombies with mystical magic powers. *Undead Warrior - Zombies and skeletons equipped with shields and axes. *Fire Undead - Flaming zombies which are very fast and dangerous. X-Creatures * Loper - Feral cybernetic monstrosity created by Wilhelm Strasse. * Proto-Soldier - Prototype Ubersoldats. * Ubersoldat - Cybernetic warrior. Wilhelm Strasse's greatest creation. * X-Shepherds - robotic dogs with mounted machine guns (only in Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War) Bosses * Olaric - An undead monster from Thule lore. * Advanced Ubersoldat - An advanced, armored version of Ubersoldat. * Heinrich I - Warlord and mage from the past who is brought back to life by the SS Paranormal Division. Weapons *Boot - your standard melee attack. Not very effective against any enemies. Quite effective for opening doors and breaking things though. Also quite useful for demolishing undead zombies after you shoot them down. * Knife - Standard issue combat knife. If you can sneak up on an enemy it provides a silent kill. Useful for stealth kills until you get the suppressor for the Luger, or the Sten. * Luger - Fires the standard 9mm parabellum round. It is the first firearm you will acquire. In the village after you escape you can acquire a suppressor for make it slightly more useful. * Colt 1911 - Firing a heavier .45 ACP round. The ammo is very scarce and put to better use in the Thompson sub machine gun. Optional second colt can be used in later levels (dual wielding). * MP40 - Fire the standard 9mm parabellum rounds. The MP40 is an average sub-machine gun. Average Accuracy, average power. Ammo is very plentiful. * Thompson - Fires the .45 ACP round. Better stopping power and about the same accuracy of the MP40. * Sten - Integral suppressor. Very quiet but tends to over heat after about 10 rounds fired fully auto. The gun then needs to cool down. Less accurate than the MP40, and the M1A1 Thompson, and is slightly more powerful. * Mauser Rifle - Bolt action rifle. Fires the 7.92mm rifle round. 5 rounds per stripper clip. Comes with a sight mounted on it later in the game and functions as the sniper rifle. * Sniper Scope - The Mauser Rifle with a scope attached. * Snooper - M1S prototype sniper rifle with a built-in suppressor and a night-vision scope. * FG42 - Paratrooper rifle, fires the same rounds as the Mauser Rifle, but uses 20 round magazines and is full auto. Has a 3x scope integrated. * Venom Gun - Compact minigun. Fires 12.7mm small rounds. Belt fed extremely high rate of fire. * Tesla Gun - Its an electric gun which generates huge bolts of electricity. It gets it's name from Nikola Tesla, whose research is used extensively in the X-Labs. * Flamethrower - Exactly what it sounds like, a backpack fed flamethrower. * Panzerfaust - Single shot disposable shape charge rocket Ports The game was released for the Linux and Macintosh platforms in 2002. In 2003, the game was ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox and subtitled as Operation Resurrection and Tides of War, respectively. Both console versions include a series of prequel single player missions where the main character, BJ Blazkowicz and his partner Agent One operate in Nazi-occupied Egypt / North Africa. The PS2 version has a New Bonus Feature where you can purchase upgrades such as being able to have a larger amount of ammo or health at max by finding secrets at the end of each level. In the Xbox version a Secret Bonus is awarded after every level when all the secret areas for that level have been found. It also has a New Shotgun weapon found in Single player as well as the Soldier and Engineer for Multiplayer games. New Special equipment — Holy Cross, EMP Device, and X-Shield. New Enemies - Occult Priest and X-Shepard. And the original Wolf 3D. The two player co-op mode is exclusive to Xbox and allows the second player to play as Agent One. The Xbox version has the addition of online play via Xbox Live and link play. It also has downloadable content. Xbox has also released a Platinum Hits edition of the game. The Playstation 2 version lacks any online play whatsoever. Category:games